On the right lines

A HANDFUL of high-profile celebrities have made a lot of noise campaigning against high-speed rail, with the likes of actor Geoffrey Palmer leading the opposition. Hopefully, the letter in support of the scheme from many of the country’s most successful business executives will put such complaints into perspective.

The detractors have so far voiced a “not in my back yard” argument, claiming that the economic case for high-speed rail is flawed. They have little support from economists.

Obviously, the benefits will not be as great for those residing in Buckinghamshire, a stone’s throw from London and the financial help that this brings.

However, HSR is about the future of the national economy and thankfully, those leading major companies like Morrisons, National Express and John Lewis are able to look at the bigger picture. For Yorkshire alone, cutting an hour off the journey time to London is likely to be worth £62bn. This region, so often denied a fair share of transport funding, would be 80 minutes from the capital.

The Government promised to rebalance the economy and to address the North-South divide which has left the region disadvantaged for so long. HSR is one way of achieving this objective.

The backing doesn’t just come from Yorkshire – politicians across the North, and the millions of people they represent, are all in favour of fast train routes that would bring businesses across the country closer together and ease the pressure caused by the current brain drain to London.

The Government must represent the overwhelming majority supporting HSR, and stand firm against the loud and influential minority group that is fighting against progress.